Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians has suggested that the NFL could see female coaches in the future, following the announcement that Sarah Thomas will become the league's first permanent female official.

NBA side the San Antonio Spurs hired Becky Hammon as an assistant coach last year, and Arians believes that women could soon be coaches in the NFL.

He told ESPN: "Someone asked me yesterday, 'When are we going to have female coaches?' The minute they can prove they can make a player better, they'll be hired."

Shannon Eastin became the first woman to work in an NFL game when she was a replacement line judge in 2012.